Types of Scientific Investigations

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Types of Scientific Investigations
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Three Types of Scientific Investigation

• Descriptive
• Used to gather information or data about natural
  phenomena.
• Use of adjectives
• No manipulation of the subject or its environment
• Often leads to other types of scientific
  investigation
• Comparative
• Used to show relationship between two things.
• No control setup
• Experimental
• What we think of as a traditional experiment.
  Used to show cause and effect.
• Always contains a control setup

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Experimental Design

• This design is to be used with an Experimental
  Investigation
• Five Steps
• 1. Observation
• 2. Hypothesis
• 3. Experimentation
• 4. Collecting Data
• 5. Forming a Conclusion

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Method 1 Observations

• What is observing?
• Using the five senses to collect info from
  environment
• Make some silent observations about this
  picturethen we will share

What did you learn?
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Inferences

• What is an inference?
• Inference
• What you observe what you already know

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Method 2 Hypothesizing

• What is a hypothesis?
• A statement formed from observations that
  attempts to predict
• Format IFTHEN.
• Cause and Effect relationship
• Example IF I don't do my homework...THEN Mrs.
  Dugger will give me a 0.
• Hypothesis can be tested through experiments

Support
Disprove
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Method 3 Experimentation

• What is it?
• Testing your hypothesis to get data
• Experiment Set-ups
• Controlled Set-up normal conditions
• Experimental Set-up abnormal conditions,
  contains experimental variables
• Set-ups include
• Controlled variables things held constant
• One manipulated variable things being testing

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Dissect the Experiment

• Controlled set-up vs. experimental set up
• Controlled variables?
• Manipulated variable?
• Responding variable?

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More Practice!

• What type of investigation did we perform during
  the potato lab?
• Defend your answer.

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More Practice!

• In the potato lab, what is the
• controlled set-up?
• experimental set-up(s)?
• controlled variable(s)?
• manipulated variable?
• responding variable?

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Method 4 Collecting Data

• Datainformation gathered in the experiment
• Qualitative adjectives, descriptive
• Quantitative numbers, can be measured
• Describe Bart

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Collecting Data

• Datainformation gathered in the experiment
• Accuracy correctness
• Precision reliability
• Which dartboard shows accuracy? Which dartboard
  shows precision?

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Organizing Data

• Data is organized into Charts and Graphs

Line Graph What type of
investigation would this be useful for?
Pie Chart used for showing
percentages of a whole
Bar Graph
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Form a Conclusion

• A conclusion is not fact, it is stating what
  happened in only one conducted experiment.
• Conclusions may or may not support your
  hypothesis! Its ok to be wrong!

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Theorynot fact!

• What is a theory?
• An explanation for how something occurs
• Theories result when hypothesis tested many
  times and give the same result.
• Theories are never proven
• Theories can be revised with new evidence

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Examples of theories.
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Any Questions?